Kel's Betrothal
by sorka robinton
Summary: hey, this is a story about if Kel was being betrothed, and what might happen...hee
1. the news

hey guys, this is kinda wacky...but i think its interesting...right? RIGHT?  
  
and it may be a while before i post again, 'cause of school, but don't forget about me!   
~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
"So, Kel," Ilane of Mindelan explained, settling herself more comfortably on the girl squire's couch, "Your father and I decided that we shall soon find a husband for you to marry."   
  
"What?" Kel squeaked, her eyes wide with disbelief and barely contained outrage. She choked on her reply, glaring at her calmly pristine mother.   
  
"You know it's what would happen anyway," her mother said gently, "I think its a good idea. Besides, these things take time! You will probably be a knight-"   
  
"A knight that wanders around the kingdom, doing knight-y things! Not staying home and cooking potroast!" the girl retorted.   
  
"Just think about it." Ilane nodded to her sulky daughter. "We'll watch you at the ball tonight, not to mention your sisters." Her youngest scowled before smoothing on a Yamani mask and leaving the room.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Kel, with the help of Lalasa, dressed quickly but neatly. "My lady," the maid said approvingly, "You look lovely."   
  
The girl squire scowled. "Like a boy trying to cross-dress, i'll bet." The woman twirled the sulky Kel towards a mirror. Her hazel eyes opened wide as she saw her reflection.   
  
She was swathed in a green gown, the style emphasizing her trim waist and feminine curves that were usually diminished effectively by the Squire uniform. Graceful, while still maintaining an appearance of strength. Her hair curled around her face, while the remainder was swept up into a bun with roses woven in. She hated it at the same time that she loved the effect.   
  
"See?" Lalasa grinned. "You mother would be proud to see you look so pretty." She brushed on some face paints, scolding as the girl squirmed beneath the brush. "And it makes your hazel eyes seem almost green. You're touchy today, Kel. Calm down."  
  
Kel looked down and blushed. "This neckline is too low..." she protested, turning a bright pink.   
  
The maid winked. "Then you have something to give the boys to think about." She grinned as her mistress scowled, and pushed her firmly out the door. "Now go."   
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Kel's father sat mildly in a chair, chatting with his wife, when Kel entered the ballroom. "Now what was her problem?" he whispered to Ilane, pointing to his daughter. "She looks lovely."   
  
The girl stomped over to a group of squires, a stubborn look on her face. He watched, amused, as she acquired a mirror and wiped off every trace of makeup with her hankerchief. The boys laughed, and Kel took her hair down and braided it into a single plait down her back, leaving the roses abandoned on the table.   
  
"Oh, look now what she's done," Ilane sighed. "Ruined it all. And she looked so pretty, too. Still does, in fact, but more like a wild girl instead of a lady. Kel, Kel, Kel."   
  
He groaned as she wandered out of sight, surrounded by friends, to the library (if he remembered his palace directions after all these years). But one boy, lingering behind, crept up to the table and slipped one of the pale roses off the table and dexteriously into his sleeve before catching up to the others.   
  
"Ah," the father said, with a knowing air. "So there will be a conflict after all," he murmured as the tall boy ran out the door.   
  
~~~~~~~~~~~`  
  
OH MY GOD who is that boy and whats going to happen!? (so i was feeling sarcastic today...)  



	2. the redhead

hey again...neal or cleon? i just sped-read squire in the store...hardcovers are expensive.   
  
i didn't catch much besides...she liked cleon right? Yay! Im both NK or KC so ...i didnt care much. whomever she liked was okay with me. yeah i haven't read page or squire yet (bad fan, bad fan) and so im just writing this ignorantly.   
  
~~~~~~~~~~  
  
"Studying?" Cleon said, followed by a troop of second-year pages as they wandered aimlessly into the library. "On a rest day?"   
  
The girl squire scowled at her friend. "I nearly failed the last test in History," she informed him sulkily. "I don't want to do that again."   
  
"Oh, dove of my soul," he said expressively, his arms in an elaborate gesture as he drew a chair up next to her. Grabbing her hand, he held it to his heart like a play actor as he gazed into the distance. "Never fear, fair maid, for I shall rescue you from-"  
  
"Stuff it, Cleon," Neal growled.   
  
His best friend stared at him. "Neal, what's wrong with you?" Merric asked faintly, a slight blush creeping up his cheeks. Queenscove stared back icily, his green eyes glinting, until Cleon's own face paled and he stumbled back a step.   
  
Kel stared from Neal to Cleon, Faleron, Owen, and Merric standing there like deer cornered by huntsmen. "You two, on your feet," she commanded. "Out. Now." When they hesitated, she snapped her fingers. "Please," she added, her gentle voice returning to its normal pitch.   
  
~~~~~~~~  
  
She nearly had to drag the two out by their sleeves, while they had a staring contest of glares. "Honestly," she said, exasperated. "You're scaring the other boys! You've been at it for weeks, I swear!"   
  
"Oh," Neal mumbled.   
  
Cleon's eyes were downcast. "Yeah." He did not meet her gaze though he hoped -actually, imagined- that her fingers had held onto his arm a wee bit longer than it had on Neal's.  
  
"Really," Kel insisted. "What is the matter?" Her wide hazel eyes watched Cleon, and then Neal. They shifted their feet, uncomfortable.   
  
"Nothing," they chorased. Biting her lip, Kel sighed.   
  
"All right, then. It's hard to be a peace maker," she informed them sternly, "when the two parties are incoherant. And the medium is attempting to study."  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~`  
  
The banquet that night was attended to by the Squires, not the pages. Piers and Ilaine watched their daughters carefully, both Kel and the ambitious Oranie, who had managed to repel most suitors with her arrogant attitude.   
  
"Do you think she knows?" Ilaine whispered to her husband, regarding the two boys who gazed after the girl, hastily piling dishes onto a tray.   
  
Piers watched for a moment, then shook his head. "I have no idea. I think we shouldn't try to arrange anything until...we can discern whom she prefers."   
  
Ilaine whistled softly. "Amazing. We worry the most about our tomboy girl, and she attracts the Duke's son _and _yet another. Both handsome lads, they are."   
  
Piers laughed. "All this, while we fussed over Oranie and both her hands are still empty."  
  
~~~~~~~~~  
  
Kel fled with the stack of dirty dishes to the kitchen. With a sigh, she began to load them into the basins for washing, the dirty water just missing the sleeves of her Squire Gown uniform created by Thayet a year ago.   
  
She smiled down at the red and gold cloth, the same as the tunics, but cut into a fitted bodice and flowing skirt. "You never know," the Queen had commented with a wink, her own adapted Rider outfit accenting her figure. "Uniforms ought to look nice."   
  
Slapping the hanging braid out of her face, Kel stood and smacked right into Cleon. "Oh, sorry," she said, blushing slightly. Her hands still tingled with his touch, as they had braced her against slamming into him full force.   
  
The redhead bit his lip, watching her face. "No problem, pearl," he informed her, clenching and unclenching his hands.   
  
For the second time that evening, she blushed shyly. Kel felt the red creeping up from behind her ears to her nose. "Yama bless me," she prayed inwardly. "Don't make me a lobster now."   
  
The boy gripped her by the shoulders and drew her nearer until they were almost touching, staring down the few inches into her face with a strange expression. For moments, they stood there, nothing said between the two. Kel's huge eyes grew wider, hear heartbeat increasing, until Cleon finally stepped back with a jerky motion.   
  
"Rose of my Heart," he said, voice slightly bitter. "You _are _in love with Neal, are you not?"   
  
"What?" Kel's mind suddenly cleared. "Neal?" She stood confused, for she had nearly been in Cleon's arms, and he had asked a question she had not anticipated.   
  
The redhead took her surprise as a yes. "Oh, but I am a fool." Running one hand through his curling hair, he let out a disappointed sigh. "And how could she not," he muttered more to himself that addressing the girl, "prefer a Queenscove to a poor son of a struggling hold?"   
  
Kel gasped, reaching out to grab his arm, but Cleon had disappeared as quickly as he had came.   
  
~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Neal saw Cleon run from the dining hall, his face awash with sorrow. "Ah." Discarding the pile of napkins he was burdened with, he darted back to his rooms.   
  
Ilaine grinned. "Wonder what shall happen now," she said, playing with her drink languidly. "They're both after a goal; yet there can be only one winner."   
  
~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
"Cleon?" Kel called as she wandered the halls. "Cleon!" Bless the Gods, where had he gone? "CLEON!" Where was he? Had he just said...that he liked her? Kel's heart warmed at the thought, for she loved him dearly.   
  
The boy hid himself behind a small pillar and waited until her back was turned, and then sped out the door and into the courtyard without being seen.   
  
"Kel?" a voice rang out. She turned, hoping it was Cleon, when she saw Neal standing there, a bunch of daisies in one hand. "Kel."   
  
~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
cliff hanger isnt it? hehehes


	3. changes

hey thanks for the reviews...by the way, the humor isn't in this chapter, its mostly when i make piers and Ilaine talk. its fun to write.   
  
i actually read page! today. so proud of myself. but the library near my house didn't get squire yet, so i sped read it at teh store instead.   
  
hey this is a long chapter  
  
~~~~~~~~~  
  
"Neal," Kel whispered. "What are you doing?!" A picture of her redheaded love flashed though her mind, but Cleon did not materialize. She was left standing in front of Neal, instead of her Kennen...this was confusing! A few years ago she would have jumped for joy at this sight. But now...   
  
He smiled, his green eyes gleaming in the dim lights of the hall. "What does it look like?"   
  
The girl stumbled back a step. "Cleon," she murmured, but her former sponsor was unable to hear her quiet exclaimation.   
  
"Kel," Neal continued, "I think I love you." Sweeping up the shocked Lady Squire in his arms, he presented her the bunch of daisies. "What do you say?" he asked, planting a kiss on her lips.   
  
Kelandry gasped, tripping over the hem of the Lalasa-made Squire uniform in her effort to escape his embrace. "I don't know!" she cried, before sprinting off to her room. The door down the hall shut softly, and he heard the unmistakable click of her lock.   
  
~~~~~~~~~  
  
The rejected lad stomped down to his own room, completely forgetting the fallen flowers on the carpeted walkway. Opening the door and locking it also, he fell onto his bed with a sigh.   
  
"So," a voice came from the shadows, "Neal."   
  
The twenty-year-old turned to see Cleon seated in the chair, his face grim. "What do you want?" he said tiredly.   
  
His best friend stood, running his fingers through thick red hair. "You couldn't stop yourself, could you?" Kennan spat bitterly.   
  
"What?"   
  
"I love her, Neal. Can you say the same?"   
  
"Of course."   
  
Cleon snapped his fingers. "Are you sure? Kel...she isn't another Daine, or Uline, or Mardrea, or Lecia, or Celie. She is _ours. _How can you be sure she isn't one of your superficial crushes? Just another girl?"   
  
Neal jumped to his feet. "How can you say that? Cleon, you know exactly why I like her."   
  
"You just said 'like,' " his friend pointed out.   
  
"You know what I meant."   
  
"I do not." Kennen cradled a dried rosebud in his large hand, gently touching the crisp petals. "I swear, Neal."   
  
"Cleon, I love her. Whenever I'm with Kel, I have this strange feeling of being mixed up, and that only she can put me back together."   
  
The redhead glared. "Neal, you have had so many moments of mixed feelings in the past. The only girl- woman- who I will ever love is Kel. Do you understand that?" Cleon exclaimed, frustrated. "She is everything to me. She always has been. While you were dreaming of your Court beauties, my heart was already given to the page girl!"   
  
He ran out of the room, escaping to his quarters before Neal could even answer.   
  
~~~~~~~~~~`  
  
Inness knocked on his Squire's door. "Cleon- you all right?"   
  
A muffled blur answered him.   
  
The knight sighed and banged his shoulder against the wood. The door opened with a crash and Cleon stood up. "What was that, Inness?"   
  
The man crossed his arms. "And what is that?" His eyes washed over the thrown clothes, the pillow across the room, and lastly the single streak of tears down one cheek. "Cleon," he said gently, sitting in a chair. "What's wrong?"   
  
"My best friend double-crossed me. And she doesn't love me, so my life is over." Cleon rolled over and lay face down over his bed.   
  
"A girl?"   
  
"Unfortunately," the fourth-year Squire groaned. "I don't know what to do!"   
  
"How old is she?"   
  
"Sixteen."   
  
Nothing unusual. Most court ladies came to Corus at that age. "Who is she?"   
  
The boy's wild eyes landed on Inness' face. "Uh...I don't know?"   
  
"Cleon, don't give me that kind of horse dung."   
  
"You would kill me."  
  
"I might do that anyway."   
  
Cleon banged his head into the mattress repeatedly. "Great Gods...It's your sister."   
  
Inness stood up suddenly. "Kel?!" His squire nodded, cringing. "Cleon, stop it. I'm not going to hit you."   
  
"Inness, what am I going to do?"   
  
His knight master sighed. "How long?"  
  
"Since we went traveling the first time, to Mindelan." Cleon moaned. "Years ago! She was yet a Page..."  
  
"That long?! Gods, Cleon."  
  
"So long already. Inness, I don't think she likes me. She likes Neal, I just know it. Gods, what am I going to do?"   
  
"Hey, hey, hey. How do you know she likes Queenscove?"   
  
"I can just tell."   
  
"Cleo, my boy, sometimes you have a messed up sense of people. How can you be sure?"   
  
"Because I was talking to her, and hugged her, and then she didn't say anything, then I started babbling about Neal, and-"  
  
"Wait a moment! You _touched _to my sister?!"   
  
"Stop it, Inness!" Cleon yelled. "And you have to admit, she's beautiful...even if it's not in the way that vicious Oranie is, or any court genteel..."   
  
"Hey," the knight said seriously. "Don't speak about Orie that way. She's not the same as she was before...You know her fiancee died." The squire nodded, shamefaced.   
  
"Sorry."   
  
"Thats okay."   
  
"But Kel..."  
  
Inness thought. "I suppose so...Kel isn't willowy, or slender, but she's... something... well, her big brother says so anyway."   
  
"She's like an archer goddess, or something, tall, strong," Cleon replied dreamily. "I can practically see her, not in a gown or anything, just regular clothes. And she looks so happy, hair loose, smiling freely. Her face is beautiful, but in a strong way. And her eyes...nose, ears, mouth-"   
  
"Watch it," Inness warned. Cleon gave him a sharp glare, and the elder sighed. "Oh, never mind, she's old enough for big brother to back off."  
  
"Don't take what I say _that _way. I love her entirely. Not just her looks, or appearance...I love her spirt, how she never gives up, manages to stay calm even when I tease her...I don't want to change her, Inness. I love her the way she is."   
  
He clapped Cleon on the shoulder. "Well, okay. Don't mess with her mind, or I'll beat you up. But if you make her happy, I'll be fine with it. No pressure or anything," he added as his squire made a face.   
  
~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Kel stood in front of the mirror. With a slow hand, she let down her hair, untangling and stretching the slightly wavy locks. "Too short," she murmured. "Shouldn't ever have cut it."   
  
Grabbing her favorite dress, though it was not very comfortable, she slipped it on. Cursing as she tried to lace the back, she stumbled around for a minute. "Not slender enough," she added to herself. "Too tall." The second year squire stood up straight, examining herself in the blue-grey gown. "I suppose I have to accept myself...but why could'nt i have been born a 'fair lady' instead of me?" she wailed.   
  
"Oh, Gods. Why am I even trying?" she asked, tears pooling in her eyes. "He ran from me today." Hands shaking, she combed the wavy brown hair until it shone before sitting down hard on her bed.   
  
"And why am I still here talking to myself?" she told herself, storming over to her door and opening it with a flourish.   
  
"Ah!" Cleon cried.   
  
"What are you doing?" she gasped. "Outside my door-" she stopped speaking. In his hand, he held a single red rose.   
  
Cleon tried to smile, but sadly failed. "Kel, my dove," he said shakily, "Will you be mine?" The petals shook slightly in his hand, but the velvety flower made no sound.   
  
"Are you joking again," she asked, biting her lip, "or is this real?"   
  
This time he did smile. "This is real," he told her. "For once, I'm not joking around." Holding out the flower, the redhead grinned. "Can I come in?"  
  
"Sure." Holding open the door, she turned in a swish of blue skirts.   
  
He carefully propped open the door with a chair and sat in another. "You haven't answered my question."   
  
"Which one?" she asked, blushing.   
  
"Will you be my lady, Kel?" Cleon held out one hand to her, eyes pleading. "Please?"   
  
She put hers inside his open palm, squeezing it gently. His eyes flew up, focusing first on her hand, twined in his, to her face. "I will be yours, Cleon," she replied firmly.   
  
"Oh, Kel!" he said happily. "Kel!" Grabbing her around the waist, he twirled her around in a circle before lowering his face the few inches between their height to kiss her.   
  
He tilted her chin up for a brief second before their lips met, and she nearly collapsed in his arms with the intensity of his gaze. But then the soft sweetness of his kiss overwhelmed her senses, his hands on her waist and hers wrapped tightly around his neck.   
  
"Wow," she whispered. Giving the chair a sharp kick, the heavy door swung shut with a small click.   
  
"Can you do that?" Cleon asked her. "The closed door thing."   
  
"Who cares?"   
  
"Lord Wyldon," he said, breath warm on her cheek.   
  
"And is he here?" she said passionately. "With you?" Her fingers curled in his red hair, making him shiver.   
  
Cleon chuckled. "Personally, I like you better."   
  
"I'm glad," she replied. "But, Cleon?"   
  
"What, sweet pea?"   
  
"Well, you know..." Blushing, she gestured towards the bed. "I don't think that would be a good idea. You know. I have the charm, but..."  
  
"No matter," Cleon said expressively, like a stage actor. "If the maiden is willing, I may hold her in my arms- innocently- through the night, knowing that my love is safe within the circle of my heart."  
  
"How sweet," she said, poking him in the ribs before his arms tightened around her and she was lifted up into his arms, and dumped teasingly into the pile of huge Yamani pillows by the window.   
  
"Night, Kel," he added before rolling her over and administering a thorough kiss before curling up with her wrapped tightly to his chest.   
  
~~~~~~~~~~~`  



	4. betrothed

hey guys...  
  
~~~~~~~~`  
  
"Oh, Gods!" Cleon groaned. "Kel, wake up! It's nearly time for breakfast!"   
  
"Whha..." she began, and then sat upright. "I overslept?"   
  
"Hurry!" he urged, trying to de-crease his clothing. "Change, or something! So we both don't look like hell stumbling down late together."   
  
Slipping into the dressing room, she grabbed her usual tunic and breeches, slipping into it as fast as she could, throwing a handful of seeds to the sparrows as she darted back. "All right. What about you?"   
  
"Nothing. I look like this everyday," the redhead told her. "It won't make a difference."   
  
Sprinting down the halls, they arrived and grabbed trays just in time before the prayers were said. Panting, they bowed their head and gasped, "So mote it be."   
  
Owen, digging into his muffin, exclaimed, "You were almost late!"   
  
"What happened?" Roald remarked quietly. "You never oversleep," he said to Kel.   
  
"Well," she said, trying to look as put off as possible, "I did, and no one woke me up, thank you very much."   
  
"That's Neal's job," Merric protested. "No one else -but Jolly Owen- is that alive in the mornings to remember anything but buttoning their shirts and stumbling down to the mess."   
  
"What about me?" Cleon complained. "How come no one cares about _my _well-being?"   
  
Faleron grinned. "You're late to the mess two days out of five, Cleon."  
  
There was a brief silence as Neal and Cleon's eyes met, and a piercing glare was exchanged. The former's sharp green eyes took in the creased appearance and scowled.   
  
Luckily, no one but Kel and the two boys saw.   
  
~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Stumbling back to his rooms for his staff, Cleon ran directly into Inness. He gulped, seeing the look on his Knight's face. "Oh, I'm in for it," he muttered.   
  
"Well, well," Inness told him. "Cleon, my boy, you have some explaining to do."   
  
"I don't, actually," the redhead said as blithely as he could.   
  
Mindelan sighed. "Cleon, she's my _sister!" _  
  
"Nothing happened. I swear."   
  
"By Mithros?"   
  
Cleon scowled. "I swear, by Mithros, that I did not sleep with your sister! Like that," he added, just in case. "I did not sleep with her _like that." _His face blushed to its very edges.   
  
"Oh, all right then."   
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Oranie frowned at her skirt. Nothing was right.   
  
"Damn!" she cried aloud, stomping around her room. "Why can't my life be simple!?" Her eyes regarded her reflection in the mirror. "Don't even think about him," she warned her twin in the glass. "Not a single thought."   
  
A knock came at her door. "Orie? Hello?"   
  
Opening it with poise, Kel came into view. "Orie, it's time for supper, and they sent me to collect you."   
  
Smiling sweetly, the older sister studied Kel. Cheeks flushed, eyes bright, in that silly Squire dress, her hair even braided neatly...oh, she was in love. "All right," she replied, all the while thinking, _This isn't fair! Mother and Father always told me I would marry, and then what do you know? A spindren eats Marel like a loaf of bread! And my little sister, the tomboy, the cow, she is the one who is happy.   
  
"_Oranie?"   
  
"Yes?" she said, returning to herself.   
  
"It's time to go," Kel told her with just a hint of worry in her joyful voice.   
  
_It's just not fair.   
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
_Ilaine smiled at her husband. "It's all arranged."   
  
"It is?"   
  
"We have spoken to his parents, and all is well. They have agreed not to tell their son or Kel until we feel it is ready. They were quite excited, really."   
  
"Have we made the right choice?" Piers asked cautiously. "Is it the right one?"   
  
"Oh, certainly." The mother grinned smugly. "I could tell, like a second sight."   
  
~~~~~~~~~


	5. oranie

hey again. yups, ilaine and piers are mean. by the way do you spell ilaine as ilaine or ilane or illane or illaine...etc. help me my book is lost.   
  
~~~~~~~~  
  
Kel's hands nearly shook the glasses of drinks off her tray. "M'lord?" she said courteously, bowing slightly to accomodate the full goblets of wine.   
  
The night was warm, so her supply of chilled beverages was quickly depleated by the guests. Returning with more, carefully balancing the light wooden circle, she nearly veered into Neal as she walked out the door.   
  
"Watch out!" she cried in time, before they collided. "That was close, Neal. They would have us hung out to dry if this was spilled," she gasped.   
  
Taking the tray from her hands, the squire placed it on the table. "Kel, what happened last night? With Cleon?"   
  
"Nothing, really."   
  
"Kel, please! Listen to me!" Neal pleaded. "I don't know what to do! How to show I care! Flowers? A sonnet? I can't -couldn't- even start on a poem without your help-"   
  
Holding her hand up, she shook her head. "Neal, why would I even want a poem?! Is that _really _what you think I'd want?" Eyes huge, he simply stared at her.   
  
"We _are _friends, Neal, and thats the way it should be." Smiling weakly, Kel picked up the tray with composure and left the small preparation room.   
  
Leaning his burning forehead against the cold stone of the walls, he murmured to himself, "I should have known she wouldn't want a poem...I _should _have known, so why didn't I...Gods! What's the matter with me?"   
  
~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
The bell bonged the midnight hour. "Bright Mithros, we're _free_," Cleon yelled in the kitchens.   
  
"So mote it be!" the others chorased, throwing the dirty rags and cloths in the air. Shedding aprons and leaving unwashed dishes and cups for the next shift of squires, the mass exodus clogged the doorway.   
  
"Are you gonna practice staffs?" Cleon's shout reached Kel's ears across the noisy hall.   
  
"Definately!"   
  
"Meet you there!"   
  
Dashing past Raoul's empty room and darting into her own, Kel quickly changed into old clothes and grabbed her staff before sprinting into the hallway. And slamming into Oranie.   
  
"Gods, sorry Orie," Kel said, hands out in apology. "I've been doing this all day!"   
  
Crossing her arms, the older sister raised her eyebrows. "Because you're betrothed? Is that why your head is in the clouds?"   
  
"What? I am? To who!?"  
  
"One of them, I don't know. Or care." Bursting into tears, she sobbed, "It's not fair!"   
  
"I'm sorry, Orie," Kel whispered. The other wrung her skirt in both hands. "Really." Patting her sister's hair, she tried to comfort her. "Don't cry."   
  
Suddenly alert, Oranie shoved Kel away violently. "Go away!" she screamed. "I hate you!" Running off as fast as she could in court skirts and flimsy shoes, the door to her guest room, next to Kel's, slammed shut.   
  
Cleon dashed into view, staff in hand. "Kel!"   
  
"Cleon! There's something wrong with her!" Lending Kel a hand, she was up in a flash and pounding on the door. "Orie!"  
  
Footsteps thudded in the hallway and Neal, throwing on a shirt, and stopped next to Kel. "I heard something! Is everyone okay?"   
  
Cleon glared at him. "Why?"   
  
"I heard shouts," he answered calmly while Kel continued to bang on the door, yelling.   
  
The whole motley crew arrived only when Piers and Ilaine came sauntering down the hallway, arm in arm. "Oh, hello everyone," she said. "Kel? What on earth are you doing?"  
  
"Why am I betrothed?" Kel said bluntly.   
  
"What, dear?" said Ilaine. "Oh, yes, that. It was to be a surprise, but I suppose Oranie blurted it out." She sighed sadly. "How do you feel?"  
  
"How do I feel?!" Kel shrieked. "Who is it? And why wasn't I told?"   
  
Cleon glared at everyone in the area, and Neal perked up, looking slightly hopeful. "Who is it?" the redhead exclaimed.   
  
"Then it won't be a midsummer surprise!" They parents exchanged a smile. "It may seem mean, Kel, but we think we have it right. And things can always be changed, can't it?"   
  
"Tell us!" Neal gasped. Cleon gave him a dirty look, but stared just as eagerly at the Mindelan parents.  
  
Oranie's piercing scream came through the doorway, and Kel jumped out of her stupor and began kicking the door with fervor. "What's going on?" Piers yelled. "Oranie?"  
  
With three squires and one portly man flinging their weight around the door, it gave way quickly. Oranie crouched on the ground, blood streaming from a slashed wrist.   
  
"Orie!" her mother screamed, running to her daughter's side.   
  
"Neal, can't you do something?" Kel gasped, face awash with horror despite her Yamani mask.   
  
He paused. "I can try. It won't be perfect, but it _might _stop the terrible bleeding. I think I have enough strength to do it."   
  
"Hurry!"   
~~~~~~~~~~  
  
ill try to get the next chapter up soon.   



	6. the healing...for both Neal and Orie

heys...sorry its been so long...yikes. but teh story's ending is going to be messed up.   
  
by the way, are you guys able to upload new stories? because the site won't let me, only chapters in already existing stories.   
  
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Kel shrieked, "Neal, hurry!"   
  
"I am," he growled. "Its hard, don't you know?" Kel, squinting, could see the cut begin to slowly shrink. "It's working, isn't it?"   
  
"Orie!" Ilane cried out. "Can you hear me?" The girl's eyes fluttered open, but glazed over slightly in pain.   
  
"Mother? Ma?" she whispered.   
  
"She's speaking!" her father shouted. "Oranie, are you all right?"   
  
Kel sighed. "Is she going to be okay, Neal?" He nodded, sweating a bit around the temples. Turning to her sister, now comfortably settled on the couch, she asked gently, "Orie, are you all right?"   
  
The girl nodded, face slightly pale. "I can't believe I did that."   
  
Cleon looked at Neal and nudged him. "Queenscove, recite your textbooks."   
  
He sighed, green eyes tired, as he morphed into his philosopher mode. "Well, during conditions of duress or depression, completely rational people are known to act under impulse. For example, Jamri of Meadowgreen-" Kel made a sound, and he stopped. He had just begun to speak of the Noble who had lost his mind after a hurrok attack and murdered his family. "Okay, bad example, but it's perfectly common," he said waspishly, like his natural self.   
  
But it did its job, Kel reflected, because Orie actually _smiled_. "I'm glad to know that," she said quietly, before bursting into tears. By then, the cuts were almost healed over, and Neal stood up and stretched as the Mindelan parents comforted their daughter.   
  
However, all three squires stood apart, and the Ilane exchanged a glance with her husband. Were they absolutely sure? They shouldn't have acted so compulsively...but the lad's parents had been right there...  
  
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Outside, out of view of her parents, Kel broke down a bit on Cleon's arm. The squire comforted her the best he could, but she stopped crying almost instantly. "Just a bit of stress," she mumbled, wiping her eyes. With her hankerchief, she dabbed the smears of blood off her hands and stuffed it in her pocket. "We can keep this quieter, can we not?" she said quietly.   
  
"Yeah," Cleon said, hugging her around the shoulders. "Neal?" He didn't answer, and the two turned to him.   
  
He was staring into the doorway, hand over his heart. Neal turned when they spoke his name, and smiled. "I think I'll kill you anymore, Cleon. But I also think Mindelan is still for me. She's only a year older, isn't she?" he asked, dreamily. Kel giggled.   
  
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sorry short chapter...there will be one more, i think. the aftermath.   



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